Be My Escape
by 00010111
Summary: Yoruichi confronts Soi Fong before she leaves the Soul Society. Yoruichi/Soi Fong.


**Title: **Be My Escape

**Rating: **T, for semi-Yuri-ness (Is that even _close_ to being a word?)- Nothing more than a quick kiss.

**Spoilers: **Up to episode 57 of the anime.

**Length: **2006 words, 9088 characters, 24 paragraphs, and 3 pages in Microsoft Word. (Hooray, Word Count!)

**Characters: **Yoruichi Shihouin/ Soi Fong, Yachiru Kusajishi, (Kenpachi Zaraki, Ichigo Kurosaki, and Kisuke Urahara mentioned).

**Summary: **Yoruichi confronts Soi Fong before she leaves the Soul Society. Yorusoi. Semi-Yuri.

**Disclaimer: **I'm too poor to own Bleach, Kubo Tite does, and he is a god for it. Please don't sue.

_Hello, my lovely readers! I thank you for taking the time to even click on the link to my fic._

_Fwah! I come bearing not only my very first Bleach fan fiction (!), but also my first attempt at anything anywhere near Yuri (!). _

_The idea for this story came to me while I was listening to the song "I Do" by Yoko Kanno & Ilaria Graziano (its on Ghost in the Shell). It took me just about forever to think up a name for this fic. If your wondering why I didn't just call the fic "I Do", well, I have a feeling some people would get the wrong idea of the story. I named it "Be My Escape" because I thought that the lyrics to the song fit…well…somewhat…_

_Please don't flame, but if it doesn't hurt you too much, any reviews and constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated and I will take the time to reply._

_And yes, Yoruichi and Soi Fong make a great couple. Why, you ask? Well…just because…I don't have an iron-clad reason yet- but I just like them._

_So, yes, yes, I know, I know: on with the fic already! _

_-Elizabeth_

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**Be My Escape**

By Elizabeth Odessky

Yoruichi Shihouin wandered through the large gardens located at the center of the Seireitei. She had been searching the Soul Society for a certain young female captain of Second Company since she had been released from Fourth Company's medical care center two days before. The Soul Society covered an enormous area; it was very easy for someone of the captain rank who did not want to be found to disappear. Sighing and thinking to herself that she would never find the young captain without help, Yoruichi turned and began to walk towards the large gate that led out of the gardens to the rest of the Seireitei.

Too caught up in her own thoughts, Yoruichi didn't sense the presence of Yachiru Kusajishi, the young, bouncy, pink-haired assistant captain of Eleventh Company, until the small girl spoke up, "Hey! Watcha doing here, Yoru-chan?" Startled, Yoruichi jerked out of her reverie at the sound of being referred to as 'Yoru-chan'. Many of the Soul Reapers present in the Seireitei were less than friendly and anything but helpful towards her; they had apparently never forgotten that the former captain of Second Company had abandoned her fellow Soul Reapers to follow her friend Kisuke Urahara, the former captain of Twelfth Company, into exile well over a century ago. _Well_, she thought, _that sort of thing isn't something people forget or forgive easily_.

Grinning, Yoruichi looked down at the assistant captain who always gave the impression of being on a permanent sugar-high. "Hi Yachiru, I'm just looking for Soi Fong. Have you seen her anywhere recently?" she asked. A look of comprehension dawned on Yachiru's face as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet and nodded. Smiling, she looked up at the taller woman and replied, "Soi-chan is hiding in there," she made a quick gesture towards a clump of Cherry Blossom trees towards the center of the large garden. "Just don't tell her that I told you, I don't want her mad at me," she admitted sheepishly.

Still smiling at the girl's friendliness, Yoruichi nodded and began to dig in the pockets of her jacket. After a few moments of searching, she grinned and held out a brightly wrapped piece of candy, purchased at Urahara Shoten, for the bouncing girl. "Here you go, its strawberry flavored. Thanks for the help," she said as Yachiru accepted the candy with a surprising formal bow and thanked her. The girl then scampered off and disappeared around a corner, holding her prize and calling out, "Kenny! Wait for me!"

_Well, that was lucky_, Yoruichi thought grimly, _had I run into Kenpachi he would have just ignored me, or, even more likely, attacked me to see if he could still beat me in a fight_. Yoruichi concluded that Yachiru was just over-friendly, wanted candy, or more likely, was too young to remember when Yoruichi had deserted the Soul Society. She began to walk leisurely towards the clump of Cherry Blossoms that the pink haired girl had pointed out.

Yoruichi strolled into the ring of Cherry Blossom trees and glanced at her surroundings. She easily spotted Soi Fong; she was standing across the clearing from Yoruichi with her arms crossed, staring at the ground beneath her feet. "Yachiru, I told you to go away, didn't I!" Soi exclaimed in a frustrated tone, continuing to stare at the ground. "I don't need you to cheer me up." When no one responded, Soi looked up to see who had managed to find her this time. Seeing the one person she wanted most to avoid made the anger that she had barely managed to hide up until this point become evident on her face. She was less than happy to see Yoruichi.

Seeing the other woman's anger, Yoruichi faltered for a moment, then spoke up. "Hey Soi, have you been here all this time?" She spoke casually; with only a hint of hesitation was present in her voice. Soi returned her gaze to the ground and began to examine the leaves that had fallen during the last gust of wind. "I don't want to talk to you, go away," Soi responded.

Standing her ground, Yoruichi spoke softly, "I know you don't want to see me, and I understand, but_ I_ still want to see _you_." After a pause, Yoruichi smiled and then said, "You can stare at the ground all you want, eventually you'll become bored with leaves and want to look at something better. I'm not-" but she was cut off before she could finish her sentence. "You're going to leave again, aren't you?" The venom in Soi's voice hurt Yoruichi far more than any blade could, causing the older woman to take a step back.

Yoruichi stared at the young woman in front of her. Soi was standing rigid; her knees locked and her jaw clenched, as she still stared stubbornly at the leaves around her feet. She was shaking, not from the frigid weather, but from suppressed anger. Slowly, Soi felt her hands clench into fists as she said in a sharp voice that cut through the cold night air around them, "What do you want? Did you come here just to torment me? Why don't you say anything?" Soi stifled a jump and released a breath that she had not realized she had been holding when a strong, warm hand clasped her shoulder and made to turn her about to face the other woman.

Yoruichi moved one hand to the other woman's chin, in order to raise Soi's eyes to meet her own. "Soi-" she began, but was cut off when the smaller woman managed to shove her away. Soi abruptly spun around to face the nearest tree. Yoruichi recoiled, not because of Soi's feeble attack, but because of the emotions that she had seen playing across the young woman's face. Someone who didn't know Soi Fong as well as Yoruichi did would have only seen the anger evident on Soi's face, but Yoruichi saw something else; what most people managed to miss when they looked at the strong-willed captain. Yoruichi saw the pain her eyes.

She should have expected it; should have known that it was coming. Yoruichi had known the day that she had left without a word to the then-young girl over a hundred years ago that she would see pain in Soi's eyes someday. But the shock of finally seeing it after all these years was worse than she had ever imagined. Yoruichi knew what she needed to do; she needed to explain, to apologize to Soi for the pain she had caused her over all the years since they had last seen each other.

Keeping her distance this time, Yoruichi spoke up again, "Soi, I never wanted to cause you this pain, that's why I left you here. I wanted to spare you the life of a fugitive you would have led had you followed me and Kisuke to the human world. Trust me; it's not a fun life to live."

"You could have at least told me you were leaving," Soi spat out, "I promised you and my parents that I would always be there to protect you. You made me break the last promise I made to my parents before they died! Did you hate me? Did you think I was reckless or stupid? That I wasn't to be trusted?" Soi only heard a rustle of leaves before a gentle hand formed a strong grip on her chin and forced her gaze up to meet Yoruichi's. The look on Yoruichi's face softened more as she saw Soi's gray eyes brimming with tears gone unshed for too long. Finally realizing how much she had hurt the other woman, she pulled Soi into a strong embrace.

Soi used all her strength to break free from Yoruichi's embrace, but the older woman held fast, and for the first time that night, Soi's strength failed her. Finally, Yoruichi let the other woman out of the embrace, but still clasped Soi's pale hands in her darker ones. Leaning forward, Yoruichi looked straight into Soi's eyes and whispered so softly that even at this close proximity Soi had to strain to hear her voice over the sound of the branches around them swaying in the breeze.

"It's not that I didn't trust you; I did and still do trust you with my life. And its not that I hated you, or was angry at you; I could never hate you and you don't anger me in the least bit. You are not reckless and you are not stupid." After a brief pause to collect herself, Yoruichi continued on, "I left without telling you because I thought that if I left silently, you could learn to hate me, and that hate would spare you this pain. But now I realize my error; I didn't spare you any pain or lessen what you would feel, I only foolishly delayed it. And it multiplied tenfold. I loved you; I didn't want you ever to hurt like this."

Yoruichi stepped back and let go of Soi's hands. "I know it doesn't mean much to you now, but," pausing, she looked at the ground as words continued to tumble from her mouth, as if it had a will of it's own. "I'm sorry, for everything; for leaving you, for not telling you, for making you break your last promise to your parents, but most of all for not realizing my error earlier. I know you will probably never forgive me, but I still wanted to apologize."

Taking one last look at the stunned woman in front of her, Yoruichi turned to leave, but suddenly found herself unable to move due to the tight hug that enveloped her; strong hands gripped the fabric of the back of her jacket. Yoruichi simply stood there silently as Soi buried her face into the other woman's chest and began to sob; tears falling now that should have fallen years ago had the stubborn girl let them. "D-Don't say that," Soi managed to get out between the sobs that racked her whole body. She managed to get out another sentence; this time with a bit of force behind her words, "I never hated you, and I still don't." Unbeknownst to Soi, a single tear rolled down the side of Yoruichi's face.

Gently, Yoruichi returned the embrace until both Soi's sobs and shaking had stopped. Pulling back, Soi looked up into Yoruichi's bright yellow eyes. Startled, Soi still saw a small glimmer of sorrow, and shot the other woman a hesitant, yet questioning look. "I still have to go," Yoruichi explained softly, "Kisuke and Ichigo still need my help and, let's face it; the other Soul Reapers don't exactly look too overjoyed to see me."

"I know," Soi admitted as she stared despondently at the Cherry Blossom tree that she could see over Yoruichi's shoulder. Leaning back into the older woman's embrace, Soi stiffened as she felt Yoruichi's lips brush against hers. Following an instant of hesitation, she returned the gentle kiss.

After a moment, their lips broke apart and Soi felt Yoruichi's warm breath against her cold cheek as the other woman spoke softly, "Please don't cry for me again, you know I hate it when you cry. I'll be at Urahara's in Karakura, come and visit." Yoruichi slowly broke the embrace and stepped back. Giving Soi one last grin, she Flash Stepped away, leaving Soi alone in the garden with her thoughts.

Soi stared after Yoruichi for a moment, then moved slowly to lean against the trunk of the closet Cherry Blossom tree. The cold didn't bother her anymore. Grinning, she sat down and propped herself up against the tree behind her. Soi felt as if a weight she had been carrying around since Yoruichi left had disappeared. She could finally breathe again. The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes was a comet streaking across the bright night sky.

**-FIN-**

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_passes out cookies to the people who didn't wander off half-way through the story_

_If you've read any of my other fan fictions, you know that this is the first time I've said anything more than 'and they kissed' or 'then they kissed' in one of my stories. Just because I tend to suck at stuff like that, but I think what I wrote this time turned out ok. And, yes, I _do_ know that Yoruichi is not likely to ever break down like that, but that's just how it turned out._

_I think Yachiru is so incredibly adorable that I just had to think up a way to get her in this fic for just a little bit. She reminds me a bit of Tonks from the Harry Potter series. Yachiru is kinda like a little-kid version of Tonks, I think._

_I have now decided that I write the best at three in the morning. The idea had been bugging me all day; I just gave up around three and decided to write it._

_So, what did you think? Please leave me a review and let me know. Constructive criticism is welcome, but please, no flames- they make me sad._

_-Elizabeth_


End file.
